Principles – the “why” and “how” of what we do

These principles are intended to underpin all decisions made within Transition Leicester, to act as guidelines to help us evaluate our activities and to underpin our aims. They are all important and many are connected. They are ordered from principles focussed on why we do what we do, towards principles of how we work.

It is impossible for economic growth to be sustained forever, and pursuing this goal encourages unsustainable patterns of consumption.

Life with less energy appears inevitable, and this creates the need to plan for this change in our community.

2. Planning for a positive future

We believe that a world using less energy and resources could, if properly planned for and designed, be more resilient, abundant and pleasurable than it is now. We therefore see our current situation as a positive opportunity, not just a threat.

We think it is important to engage people in creating positive visions of future life in our area and in acting to make these visions reality.

We recognise that the stories we tell ourselves about who we are and our future are important, and we value work to find or create stories which fit with the reality of a low carbon future.

Our focus is on engaging people to act through the emotions of hope, optimism and the desire to live more satisfying lives, rather than by engendering guilt or fear. One important motivating idea is to see Transition Leicester’s work as the start of what could be a truly historic process.

3. Social justice

We recognise that the UK (like other industrialised countries) has contributed disproportionately to Climate Change, making us responsible to the communities affected by it across the world.

The actions we take need to be just, both locally and internationally.

4. Inner transition

A transition to a sustainable and resilient society will not be possible without changes in our values, world view and patterns of thinking.

Our work will therefore try to move beyond the surface to a deeper relationship with ourselves, other people, and the world. It will act on many levels including practical and physical, emotional, psychological, relational, community, spiritual and intellectual.

Humans and nature are inextricably linked. We need to recognise the links in our thinking and support values which put more focus on the wellbeing of other people and other living things.

We will try to cultivate an alternative to ‘us and them’ thinking styles (such as scapegoating, blaming, encouraging guilt, and being ‘against’ organisations or people).

We recognise that nobody is perfect and that everyone is at a different stage in this process of change, so our events and activities will offer a supportive and non-judgemental environment.

5. Being the change

We recognise that what we do will shape the future we end up with, and are therefore committed to taking action through our groups, projects and activities to put our goals into practice.

Our main focus is on positive solutions, so we are cautious about protesting or campaigning against things.

6. Valuing diversity

To respond the challenges that our community faces, we believe that everyone is needed.

Everybody has valuable things to bring to Transition Leicester. By including people from different cultural backgrounds and with diverse opinions and ways of working, Transition Leicester will be stronger, more effective and more resilient. The events and projects we organise therefore offer opportunities for everyone to contribute.

People in our community who have had experience of life without cheap oil have particularly valuable knowledge and skills to share.

7. A local focus

In the future we will increasingly have to meet our needs using local resources, so our work focuses on action in our local area.

This means thinking on the level of Leicester as a whole, but also crucially on the level of neighbourhoods and individual streets.

8. Working with others

We see one of our main roles as being to act as a catalyst, inspiring and supporting action taken by others that addresses the aims of Transition Leicester.

We value the work being carried out by others that contributes towards our aims. Where possible we will work in collaboration with local organisations. Maintaining a positive and constructive relationship with local Government is a particularly important part of this work.

9. A grassroots movement

Our work is driven by the passion of people giving their time freely.

We don’t rule out paying people for particular projects or roles, but are committed to considering carefully if this is necessary and its possible positive and negative impacts.

10. Sensitive and effective awareness raising

We are committed to honestly sharing the best information we know about the issues we are addressing, and trusting people to respond as they see fit. We also recognise the importance of being perceived as a credible, trustworthy source of information.

We are more committed to asking good questions than providing answers. We seek to inspire thoughts on ideas and possibilities, and are not trying to control the outcome of a process.

We will strive to communicate effectively by making our language appropriate and accessible for our audience and making our interactions engaging and enjoyable.

We will not give out emotionally disturbing information without offering people opportunities to meaningfully act in response (“no urgency without agency”) and a chance to emotionally process the information.

11. Consensus and subsidiarity

We believe that everyone with a stake in decisions about Transition Leicester should be able to have an input into those decisions. We believe that the best decisions are those that take the views of everyone concerned into account and that everyone feels able to live with.

Within meetings, this means that decisions will be made wherever possible by the explicit consensus of any group which makes them.

The principle of “subsidiarity” means that decisions are made at the most appropriate, practical and empowering level. This implies a preference for taking decisions at a lower level wherever possible (for example, decisions relating to projects/subgroups are made at that level, rather than by the steering group).

12. An enriching experience

We believe that involvement with Transition Leicester should offer people a chance to do things they enjoy, to gain new skills and self-confidence and to take on positions of responsibility.

We will therefore work through our activities to empower, support and train others (especially in skills which support the work of Transition Leicester).

We believe that involvement with Transition Leicester should be a sustainable activity, so we commit to recognise and accept our limits, and to ask for support as and when we need it.

13. A learning process

We are committed to contributing to our own learning and enabling learning for others by documenting the process of our work, evaluating its successes and failures and making this available to others (including other Transition initiatives).

We will try to base our actions on the best available information and research on the issues we address and on how to meet our aims effectively.

14. Transparency

We are committed to being transparent. This means that our meetings will be open, we will keep accounts recording our income and expenditure, document our activities, and make these documents available.